Santana High grad Needy in strong comeback with Padres

The left arm of San Diego native James Needy prominently sports a tattoo of the downtown skyline of his hometown.

All that’s missing is Petco Park.

Perhaps that would be too presumptuous for Needy, who after missing most of his first two professional seasons seems to have his career back on track.

The Padres sixth-round pick in the 2009 draft, Needy, a graduate of Santana High, is 6-2 this season with a 1.95 earned run average for low Single-A Fort Wayne. He has pitched in 31 games with the last three coming as a starter. In those three starts, he has allowed four runs on 18 hits with four strikeouts.

Needy has also made cameos at Triple-A Tucson and Double-A San Antonio with a 1.97 overall ERA for 36 games.

This has been quite a rebound season for the 21-year-old Needy, who missed most of the last two seasons due to knee injury.

On the third day of his first spring training camp, Needy was participating in a pitcher’s fielding drill on a backfield at the Padres Peoria (Ariz.) complex when he slipped on the infield grass.

“At the time, I thought it was a simple strain,” said Needy, who, in fact, had pulled the tendon off the knee. Surgery in June of 2010 included burning off some nerve endings to reduce the pain.

Needy did not play in 2010. He returned after an extended rehab in 2011 to make 13 starts in rookie ball and short-season Single-A.

“I lost a lot of strength from the surgery,” said Needy. “I couldn’t walk for a month. Going into the last off-season, I decided I would work really hard to get into peak shape. And it was the hardest I’ve ever worked.”

There is a lot to work with. Needy is 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds.

The difference in Needy has caught the attention of the Padres.

“Needy has had a very good year and has certainly elevated his status,” said Padres director of player development Randy Smith.

“He is finally healthy and logging some significant innings for the first time in his career. Despite losing the time he did to the knee injury, time is still on his side because he’s 21 with a good frame to go with a good arm.

“It’s great to see a young guy persevere and take advantage of an opportunity.”

“I’ve been more aggressive this season,” said Needy. “I was passive in 2011. There’s more conviction about what I am doing now. And I have a lot better stuff.

“Last year my velocity was down to between 86 and 91. This year it’s 90-93. My fastball and slider are both sharper and I’ve got some differential with my changeup.”

Around The Farm

Triple-A Tucson (51-83): 3B Jedd Gyorko homered in four straight games and is hitting .441 (15-for-34) over his last 10 games with two doubles, five homers and 12 RBI. He has 28 homers on the season, including 22 (plus 77 RBI) in 84 games at Tucson